Shirring device



' Feb. 9, 1931. c. SEAMAN 2,069,855

I SHIRRING DEVICE Filed April 10, 1936 Patented Feb. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES A'E" E SHIRRING DEVICE Charles Seaman, Jamaica Estates, Long Island, N. Y.

Application April 10, 1936, Serial No. 73,635

28 Claims.

This invention relates to sewing machines and more particularly to a device or attachment for making and stitching shirring or ruffiing onto a,

base material, and is an improvement on the device disclosed in my Patent No. 2,025,530, dated December 24, 1935, for Shirring device.

An object of the invention is to provide a device for controlling the feed of the material which is entirely automatic in operation and is not dependent upon the skill of the operator.

Various other objects and advantages will be' apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

A feature of the invention consists in a clamp which is adapted to grip the material so as to prevent feed thereof when the presser foot is in elevated position. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by providing the presser foot with a clamp which is operated in response to elevation of the presser foot and is caused to engage and grip the material when the feed thereof is interrupted by elevation of the presser foot. Means is also provided to release the clamp when the presser foot is lowered to hold the material in feeding engagement with the feed dogs.

Another feature consists in the provision of means to elevate both the presser foot and the clamp from the material so as to release the same for purposes of adjustment.

Other features of the invention consist in the details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully set forth.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto, the broader aspects of the invention will be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which certain preferred embodiments thereof are set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is an end elevation, partly in section, of a portion of a sewing machine head, showing the shirring device applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the shirring device;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the shirring device;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section thereof taken along the line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front elevation of a modified form of shirring device;

Figure 6 is a side elevation thereof; and

Figure 7 is a plan View showing one type of shirring which can be produced by the present device.

In the specification and in the claims, certain specific terms have been used for convenience in referring to various details of the invention. These terms, however, are to be given as broad an interpretation as thestate of the art will permit.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, the invention is shown as applied to a sewing machine having a head i carrying a, needle bar 2 which is reciprocated by suitable driving mechanism (not shown) and carries a needle 3. The head I also carries a presser foot bar 4 having a main presser foot 5 which is adapted to hold the material in driving engagement with feeddogs 6 extending through a suitable aperture '5 in a base 8.

The presser foot bar 4 is providedwith an arm 52 which is engaged by a cam lever l3 having a handle 14 for lifting the presser foot bar 4 and main presser foot .5 from the goods, as, for ex: ample, when the goods are to be inserted or removed from the machine. The presser foot bar 4 is normally held in engagement with the goods by a spring l5 and is periodically elevated by means of a pin It extending through an elongated slot H in a link l8 which is connected to the arm l2. The pin I6 is carried by a lever l9 which is pivoted to the head i in any convenient manner.

For feeding the shirring material, there is provided an auxiliary presser foot 22 which formsa part of a fiat spring 23, secured by suitable means to the base 8, and extends over a portion of the feed dogs 6 ahead of the main presser foot 5. The arrangement is such that the shirring material 24 is fed beneath the auxiliary presser foot 22 in engagement with the feed dogs 5, whereas the base material 25 is fed over the auxiliary presser foot 22 and under the main presser foot 5 in engagement with the feed dogs- 6. When both the auxiliary presser foot 22 and the main presser foot 5 are in position to hold the material in feeding engagement with the feed dogs 5, the base material and shirring material are fed at an equal rate and no shirring takes place; When, however, the main presser foot 5 is elevated somewhat, the pressure of the base material 25 upon the feed dogs 6 is released, and the rate of feed of the base material is correspondingly reduced. If the main presser foot 5 issufliciently elevated, the feed of the base material is completely interrupted. During this period, however, the auxiliary presser foot 22 holds the shirring material 24 in engagement with the feed dogs 6 and causes the shirring material tocontinue to feed at a uniform rate. The shirring material is accordingly caused to pucker up or gather in folds at the point of stitching and'is.

stitched in this condition, whereby a single .row

of stitches holds the material in shirred condition" and attaches the sameto the base material.

Any convenient means may 'beprovided for periodically elevating the main presser foot 5, as, for example, the cam mechanism disclosed in the patent above mentioned, which actuates the lever l9 for'elevating the main presser foot 5 a give amount and at fixed intervals.

' carries a nipper or clamp 34 which extends across: the. end of the auxiliary presser foot 22 in a po- V The mechanism thus far described is more fully set forth and the details of operation thereof are explained in the patent above mentioned. Only so much thereof has been shown herein as is necessary'to an understanding'of this invention.

The present invention provides a clamp for.

gripping and holding the base material so' asgto' prevent the feed thereof when the main presser foot 5 is in elevated position. v For this purpose,

a bracket is secured to the head I of the machine; A link 3| is pivoted in the'lower'end of this bracket, as, by a pin 32 extending through an elongated 1 slot 33 insaid bracket. This link sition such that the base material 25 can be gripped between the'auxiliary presser foot 22 and therclamp34. I

. The main presser .foot'5carries pins'35 and 36 which entera recess 3] and aslot'38, respectively,

in the-link-3l. A lever 40 pivoted by a screw 4| to the'bracket 30 is caused by a spring 42 to bear against a boss 43 on the link 3| which 'is located approximatelyover the clamp 34. .The

' 46 and anfadjusting rod '45 which is held in a spring 42 is-held between an ear 44 on the lever spring support 46 carried by the bracket 30. A nut 4'! engaging 'a' shoulder 48 on the spring support 46 is threaded to'the rod andyby its adjustment, determines the axial position of the rod 45 and the tension on the spring 42. 7'

The arrangement of the aboveadescribed parts is such that when themain presser foot 5 is in its lower'position the pin 36 engages the bottom of the slot 38 and causes the link 3|;to' pivot about the pin'32, thereby 'raisingthe clamp 34 out of engagement with the base material and permitting the same to feed under the main.

presser foot 5'in the usual manner. 7

When the main presser foot 5 is elevated by suitable actuation of the lever IQ for interrupting or retarding the feed of the base. material, the pin" 36 is elevated and relieves the pressure atthe bottom of the slotr38, thereby permitting the lever 46 to cause pivotal movement of the link;

3| iorbringing the clamp 34 into gripping engagement with the base material25 which ex 7 tends over the auxiliary presser footf 22." The base material is then clamped between the clamp 34 and the auxiliary presser foot 22 by means of the force applied by the spring 42' and the lever 40 to the link 3|. It will be notedthat this force is appliedby meansof the boss" 43' at the point of engagement of the clamp 34 with-the base material' The clamping force may be adjusted to any desired value by adjustment of the nut 41 and does not interferein anyway with the normal actuation of the main presser foot-5.

When the main presserfo'ot'5-is further elevated, as by means of the cam lever I3, so as to entirely release thegoods, the pins 35 and 36 V which are carried by the main presser foot 5 engage the tops of the recess 31 and 121 slot 3 f respectively, in the link 3| and cause the link' to be raised with thepresserfoot, the pin 32 sliding in the elongated slot 33 in the bracket 30,

and the lever 40 being corresponding1y'pivoted against the tension of thespring' 42. 34 and the main presser foot 5 are thus elevated in unison to entirely release the goods from the machine.

In the operation of this device, thebase ma terial 25 and the shirring material 24 are fed in the manner above described and the presser foot bar 4'is periodically actuated to elevate the main presser foot 5 so as to release the pressure onthe base material 25 and to interrupt the feed thereof. In order to produce a positive action and to prevent the base material from being ir- The clamp regularly fed by the feed dogs 6 when the pres-7 sure of the main presser foot 5 is.released,the

' clamp34 is caused-to grip the base material and securely clamp the same against the auxiliary presser foot 22. In this way, a regular predeter mined shirring efiect is produced which is not dependent upon the skill'of the operator;

It has been assumed above that 'theclamp 34 grips the base -materia'l suflicientlyn to entirely interrupt'the feed; Itis obvious; however, that i the'adjustment may be such that the c1amp'i34 serves to increase the tension 'on the material instead of to entirely'interrupt the feed'thereof; mum case, the base material'will be fed In the modification, shown in Figuresb and 6;

the bracket30, link 3|, main presser foot 5, clamp 34 and associated parts are similar to those above described and are given corresponding reference numerals. lever- 40 is omitted and the spring 42 is attached "directly to a lug iformed on the link 3|. The

In this embodiment, however, the

construction and operation. are otherwise .identi-Z cal with that described above. In this embodi-l inent, the pressure onthe clamp 34 is deter.- mined by the pivotal movement of the linkj3| produced by the pull of the spring 42. 'In order to, cause this movement to be positively transmitted, the elongated slot 33 in the bracket 30 is omitted and the link3l is mounted for pivotal movement only by means of the pin 32. In orderv to provide a suflicient movement for theclamp 34 to permit the same to be entirelydisengaged from the material in response to elevation of the main presserfoot 5 in response to actuation of the cam lever |3,the slot .38 in the link 3| is made sufiici'entlylargeto" provide clearance for the pin 36,thereby permitting the link 3| tobe pivoted by reason of the pin 35 engaging the top of the recess 31. Hence, elevation of. the main presser foot 5 causes pivotal movement of the link 3| which is suiiicient in amount to re- 7 I lease the clamp 34. 7

Although certain preferred embodiments of the,

invention have been disclosed for'purposes of and modifications may be made therein as will appear to a person skilled in the art. The invention is to be limited only in accordance with illustration, it is obvious that various changes the following claims when interpreted in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a presser foot to hold a material in feeding engagement therewith, means to periodically release the pressure of said presser foot on said material, and additional means to simultaneously and periodically grip the material to apply a predetermined tension thereto so as to control the feed in a predetermined manner.

2. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a presser foot to hold a material in feeding engagement therewith, means to periodically release the pressure of said presser foot on said material and additional means to simultaneously grip the material to interrupt the feed thereof.

3. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle, means to feed a material to the path of the needle for stitching, clamping means, and means to pcriodically cause said clamping means to apply a predetermined tension to the material so as to effect a predetermined variation in the feed.

4. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle, means to feed a material to the path of the needle for stitching, clamping means, and means to periodically cause said clamping means to grip the material so as to interrupt the feed thereof.

5. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a main presser foot to hold a first material in feeding engagement therewith, an auxiliary presser foot cooperating with a portion of the feed dog independently of the main presser foot to hold a second material in feeding engagement therewith, means to periodically release the pressure of the main presser foot on said first material, and means to simultaneously grip the first material so as to retard the feed thereof without changing the feed of the second material.

6. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a main presser foot to hold a first material in feeding engagement therewith, an auxiliary presser foot cooperating with a portion of the feed dog independently of the main presser foot to hold a second material in feeding engagement therewith, means to periodically release the pressure of the main presser foot on said first material, and means to simultaneously grip the first material so as to interrupt the feed thereof without changing the feed of the second material.

'7. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle, means to feed a first material to the path of the needle for stitching, independent means to feed a second material to the path of the needle for stitching, means to periodically release the'first material from the first feed means, and means to simultaneously grip the first material for preventing feed thereof.

8. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a main presser foot and an auxiliary presser foot cooperating therewith, means to feed a first material over the auxiliary presser foot and under the main presser foot, means to feed asecond material under the auxiliary presser foot, means to periodically elevate the main presser foot from the first material, and means to simultaneously hold the first material against the top of the auxiliary presser foot to apply a predetermined tension thereto.

9. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a presser foot to control the rate of feed of a material thereby, a clamp to engage the material to apply a predetermined tension thereto, a support carrying said clamp, means to elevate said presser foot, and means responsive to elevation of said presser foot for actuating said clamp to cause the clamp to grip said material.

10. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a presser foot to control the rate of feed of a material thereby, a clamping means adapted to grip the material for controlling the tension thereof, and means to release said clamp when said presser foot is in feeding position.

11. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a presser foot, means to vary the position of said presser foot with respect to said feed dog to control the rate of feed of a material thereby, clamping means to grip the material for applying a controlled tension thereto, and means carried by said presser foot to release said clamping means when the presser foot is in feeding position.

12. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a presser foot, means to vary the position of said presser foot with respect to said feed dog to control the rate of feed of a material thereby, clamping means to grip the material for applying a controlled tension thereto, a pivoted link carrying said clamping means, and means associated with said presser foot to actuate said link for releasing said clamping means when the presser foot is in feeding position.

13. In a sewing machine, a feed dog, a presser foot, means to vary the position of said presser foot with respect to said feed dog to control the rate of feed of a material thereby, means to eleleasing said clamping means when the presser u foot is in feeding position, and means associated with said presser foot for engaging and elevating said clamping means when the presser foot is elevated into material-releasing position.

14. An attachment for a sewing machine having a feed dog, comprising a main presser foot and an auxiliary presser foot for holding a first and second material, respectively, in feeding engagement with said feed dog, means to periodically release the pressure of the main presser foot on the first material, and means to simultaneously grip the first material so as to retard the feed thereof.

15. An attachment for a sewing machine having a feed dog, comprising a-main presser foot and an auxiliary presser foot for holding a. first and second material, respectively, in feeding engagement with said feed dog, means to periodically release the pressure of the main presser foot on the first material, and means to simultaneousl clamp the first material to interrupt the feed thereof.

16. An attachment for a sewing machine having a feed dog, comprising a main presser foot and an auxiliary presser foot for holding a first and second material, respectively, in feeding engagement with said feed dog, means to periodically release the pressure of the main presser foot on the first material, and means tosimultaneously clamp the first material against the auxiliary presser foot to interrupt the feed thereof.

17. An attachment for a sewing machine having a feed dog, comprising a presser foot to control the rate of feed of a material by the feed dog, a clamp to engage the material to apply a predeterminedtension thereto, a support carrying said clamp, means to elevate said presser foot, and means responsive to elevation of said presser foot for actuating said clamp to cause the clamp to grip said material.

18. An attachment for a sewing machine havm 'a feedrdog, comprising a presser ,foot,,ineans to vary the position of said presser foot. with respect to. said ,feed; dog to control the rate of feed of .a material'jthereby, clamping means to grip the material for'applyinga controlledtension thereto, andmeans carried by said presser foot'to release said clamping means when the presser'foot is in feeding position. 7 V V 19. An attachment for a sewing machine have ing'a feed dog, comprising a presser foot,'ineans to vary'the position of said presser foot with respect' to said feed dog to control the rate of feed of 'a material thereby, clamping means to grip thematerial for applying a controlled tension thereto, a pivoted link carrying saidclamping means, and means associated with said presser foot to actuate said link for releasing said clampiing means when thepresser rootisin-feeding position; I H

i 1 2Q.*An attachment for a sewingmachine-having a'feed dog, comprisinga presser foot, means tovary the position of said presserf foot with respect to said feed dog to control the rate of; feed of a material thereby means to elevate saidpresser footinto position to-completely release the material', clamping means to grip thematerial for applyinga' controlled tensiontheli to, 'a

pivoted link carrying said clamping. means, means associated with said'presser foot to actuate said link for releasing said clamping means .when the presser foot is inffeeding position, and means associated with said presse-r foot for engaging and elevating said clamping means whenthe presser rial for retarding'the fe ed'thereof, and means to periodically cause said tensioning means to vary thetension on said material'so' as toi eifect a pre determined variation in the feed thereof.

- 22 In a sewing machine,a reciprocating needle,

1 meansto feed a material to the path of the needlefor stitching, tensioning means therefor, and

meansuito periodically cause said tensioning means to aDplya sufiicient tension to the material to interrupt the feed thereof.

7 23. In a sewing machine, areciprocating needle,

1 means to feed a first: material to the pathof the "needle for stitching, means'to feedfa second mate rialto the path of the needle for. stitching, ten-' sioning means to grip one of said materials for retardingthe'feed thereof, and means to periodir.

callycause said tensioning means to vary the tension on said last material so as to alter the rate of feed thereof. ;f a g 24. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle,

means to. feeda first material to the path of the needle for stitching, means to feed a second material to the path of the needle for stitching, and, means to periodically apply sufficient tensionto one of said materials to interruptthe' feed thereof, p i

' 25. a An attachment for a sewing machine having; 1 a reciprocating needle comprising means to feed a first andfa; second material to the path of the needle for stitching; tensioning means to grip one 7 of said materials for retarding the feedthereof, and means to periodically 'cause'said tensioning so as to alter the rate of feed thereof, 7

means to vary the tension on saidlast'mat erial' 7 '25 26. An attachment for asewing machine having a reciprocating needle comprising means to feed I a first and a second material'to the path of the needlefor stitching, and meansto periodically apply suflicient tension tonne of said materials to interrupt the feed thereof. 7 7 2'7. The method of making shirring which comprises feeding a first and a second material to the ,path of a needle for stitching and periodically applying tension to one of said materials so as to retard the rate of feed thereof for causing one of the materials to pucker or shir with respect tothe 7 other of said materials;

28. The method of making shirring which coni; l

prises feeding a'first andapseoond material to thepath'of a needle for stitching and periodically applying tension to one of saidmaterials sufficient to interrupt the'feed. thereof. whereby the other material is caused to pucker or shir.

' CHARLES SEAMAN; 

